Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has called a special legislative session for next month to tackle his alternative to expanded Medicaid.
The two-year pilot program called “insure Tennessee” would provide health insurance to 200,000 Tennesseans who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
"The Insure Tennessee plan is a conservative approach that introduces market principles to Medicaid, provides health care coverage to more Tennesseans at no additional cost to taxpayers, and leverages a payment reform initiative that is working to control health care costs and improve the quality of care,” Haslam said in a press release. “I believe this plan is a critical first step to fundamentally changing health care in Tennessee.”
The program relies on federal funding through the Affordable Care Act and hospitals that have committed to covering any additional costs. If that support is modified during the pilot program it will be terminated.
The special session begins February 2nd.
